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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Abbas Ali Mirza is a partner at Deloitte
&
Touche (M.E.) based in Dubai and handles audits of major
international and local clients of the firm. At Deloitte he is also responsible for regional functions, such as
technical consultation on complex accounting and auditing issues. Abbas heads the Learning function for
Deloitte, Middle East, and is a member of the Global firm's EMEA Learning Executi ve. He has had a
distinguished career in accounting, auditing, taxation, and business consultin g and has worked for
international audit and consulting firms in the United States of America, the Middle East, and India. Abbas is
a frequent principal/keynote speaker at major global conferences on International Financial Reporting
Standards (lFRS) and has chaired world-class events on accounting, such as the World Accounting Summit
held in Dubai under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
He has coauthored another book on IFRS published by John Wiley
&
Sons, Inc.,
Wiley: [FRS.
He holds or
has held many positions of repute in the accounting profession globally including
• 21st Session Chairman, United Nations'
Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on
International Standards on Accounting
&
Reporting (lSAR), to which position he was elected at the
UNCTAD in Geneva in November 2004
• Member of the Developing Nations Permanent Task of the International Federation of Accountants
(lFAC), recently renamed IFAC' s Developing Nations Committee
• Member of the Accounting Standards Committee, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI),
India
• Chairman of Auditors' Group, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCl)
• Technical Adviser to the Gulf Co-operation Council Accounting and Auditing Organization
(GCCAAO)
• Member of the Consult ative Group of Experts on Corporate Governance Disclosures, United Nations
Conference on Trade
&
Development (UNCTAD)
• Member of the Consultative Group of Experts on Corporate Social Responsibility, United Nations
Conference on Trade
&
Development (UNCTAD)
Magnus Orrell is a partner at Deloitte
&
Touche LLP in Wilton, Connecticut (USA). His focus is on
financial instrument accounting issues under both IFRS and United States generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP). Prior to jo ining Deloitte in 2003, he served in various international standard-setting and
regulatory roles. For three years, he was a project manager at the International Accounting Standards Board
(IASB) in London, the United Kingdom, playing a key role in IASB' s work to develop and improve the
international accounting standards for financial instruments. The prior three years, he served as a member of
the Secretariat of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision at the Bank for International Settlements
(BIS) in Basel, Switzerland , working with senior central bank and banking regulatory officials from around
the world in formulating regulatory views and policies on financial reporting and disclosure issues. Earlier
on in his career, he was an offic ial of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, and an account ing
specialist at the Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) in Stockholm, Sweden, respectively.
Apart from being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Connecticut, he also holds the
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation conferred by the CFA Institute (formerly the Association for
Investment Management and Research), the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation conferred by the
Institute of Internal Auditors (HA), and the Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation conferred
by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Additionally, the HA has awarded him its William
S. Smith Certificate of Excellence for outstanding performance on the CIA exam. He also holds a number of
academic degrees, including a Degree and Master of Science in business administration and economics
(Sweden), a Degree of Master of Laws (Sweden), and a Master of Accounting and Financial Management
(United States). He has been a frequent speaker at seminars, conferences, and executiv e-level meetings in
many countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and has authored articles in both accountancy and finance
periodicals.
Graham Holt qualified as a Chartered Accountant (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England
&
Wales) with Price Waterhouse and is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(ACCA). He holds B.Com and MA Econ qualifications also. As a current ACCA examiner, he has been
prominent in the development of their IFRS stream and their examination scheme. He is a principal lecturer
at the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, where he is director of Professional Courses.
Graham has given lectures on IFRS throughout the world and has many publications in the subject area. He
has also been involved in running training courses on IFRS.